Rail spreader



June 2, 1923.

BURLISON RAIL S PREADER I I 'ntog an, We,

Patented June 12', 1923,

if i

- crud-van nuamson, or eiaUnnY, LVIRGINIA.

RAIL, srananna.

7 Application filed lN'oveniber-fi, 1921. SeriaI N'o.i512,544.

ToaZl' wh'om-z't may concern: e V Y Be it knova'nth'at I, -Gnovn'1afl/V'B'URLisoN, a citizenoi the Unitedlstates,residing at Grundy, in thecounty of Buchanan and State of Vir inia, have invented anew and usefulRail prea'der, of which the following is a specification. a i

This invention aims to. provide a simple means whereby the rails of arailway track may be spread apart or drawn together."

It is within the" province of the disclosure to improve generally and toenhance the utility of devices of that type to which the inventionappertains.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription pro= ceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope ofwhat is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the inventionshowncan be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows in side elevation, a deviceconstructed in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a top plan;Figure 3 is a fragmental longitudinal section showing the main lever andattendant parts in elevation; F igure 4 is a fragmental 1ongitudi-' nalsection showing one of the dogs and attendant parts in elevation. v

The device forming the subject matter of this application includes afirst member 1 made up of parallel bars 3. having seats 4 adapted toreceive one rail 5 of a track. The bars 3 are connected by securingelements 6, 7 and 8, such as bolts. Standards 9 are held on the bars 3by the securing.

element 6. A dog 10 is located between the standards 9 and is pivotallymounted there on, as indicated at 11. Standards 12 are mounted on thebars 3 and are held thereon by the securing element 8. A dog 14 islocated between the standards 12 and is pivotally mounted thereon asindicated at 15. I

The device includes a second member 2 made up of parellel bars 16located between the bars 3 of the first member 1 and slidablelongitudinally with respect thereto, the bars 16 having seats 17 adaptedto engage one rail 18 of a track. The bars. 16 of the second member 2are supplied with enlongated slots 19 receiving the s ecuringfelef allments 6, 7 and 8 to the end that relative longitudinal movement Ibetweenv the members 1 and 2 may take place. Racks 20are formed in theupper edges-'offthebars 1'6 .60 of the second member2. Thedogsf1Q'and-14 are adapted to'cooperate, one at; a time, with the racks20, and have curved surfaces 21.

Suppose'that the members 1.and"2 are moved outwardly with respect toeachother as"in'- cheated by thearrows A in Figure Theinf the dog 10prevents the members 1" and- 2 from moving inwardly in the direction ofthe arrows B, the curvedsurface 21 of the dog 14 engaging the racks 20,and the said dog having no holding efiect, but merely sliding over theracks. Suppose that the members 1 and 2 are .moved inwardly with,respect to each other as indicated by the arrows B in Figure 1. Then,the dog 10 is swung over in the direction ofthe ar-, row C in Figure 1,until its rounded or curved surface v21 cooperates with the racks 20,the dog 10 then havingno holding effect.

The dog 14 is swung over in the direction of the arrow D until it is inholding relation to the racks 20, and, then when the members 1 and '2are moved inwardly, in

the direction of the arrows B, the dog 14- prevents the said 'membersfrom moving outwardly in the direction of the arrows A.

The means for producing relative longitudinal movement between themembers 1 and 2 embodies a main lever 22, theflower end of which islocated between the bars 16 of the member 2 and is mounted to swing onthe securing element 7. Pawls 23 and 24 are pivotally mounted at 25onthe main lever 22 and project in opposite direction therefrom. Thepawls 23and 24 have openings 26 receiving slidably, .releasing membersdenoted by the numeral-27, The releasing members 27 have projections50,-at their lower-ends, adapted to cooperate with the respective pawls23 and 24.

The upper ends. of the releasing members 27 are pivoted at 28 toauxiliary levers'29 fulcrumed at 30 on the main lever 22. Each auxiliarylever 29 has a keeper .31 in the form of an eye, adapted to coact with alatch 32, such as a hook, pivoted at 3301; the lever 22. Eitherauxiliary lever 22,

together with its releasing memberv 27 and. e i

the corresponding pawl 23 or v24, may be I held in operative position,through the instrumentality of the latch 32-, one pawl 24: remaining inoperative relation to the racks of'the bars 26, and sliding on thecorresponding releasing member 27 as the said pawl moves to engage a newhold on the racks 20. Obviously, the pawl 24 is used when the members 1and 2 are to move apart in the direction of the arrows A, the pawl 23being used when the members '1 and 2 are to be moved inwardly, in thedirection of'the arrows B.

What is claimed is 2- 1. In a device of the class described, first andsecond members, connected for relative longitudinal sliding moven'ient,the second on the first member; pawls carried by the lever and adaptedto cooperate one at a time with the rack; and means for'holding eitherpawl out of engagement with the rack. 4

2. In a device of the class described, a first member comprising bars; asecuring element connecting the bars; a second member comprising barslocated between the bars of the first member and having elongated slotsreceiving the securing element; a lever disposed between the bars of thesecond member and mounted to swing on the securing element; and a pawlmounted on the lever and coacting with one of the bars of the secondmember.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereuntoafiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GROVER W. BURLISON.

Witnesses 'MATILDA DAUGHERTY,

T. A. HURLEY.

